ABSTRACT
Bemisia tabaci
(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a species complex containing >28 cryptic species, some of which are important crop pests worldwide. Like many other sap-sucking insects, whiteflies harbor an obligatory symbiont, “
Candidatus
Portiera aleyrodidarum,” and a number of secondary symbionts. So far, six genera of secondary symbionts have been identified in
B. tabaci
. In this study, we report and describe the finding of an additional bacterium in the indigenous
B. tabaci
cryptic species China 1 (formerly known as
B. tabaci
biotype ZHJ3). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA and
gltA
genes showed that the bacterium belongs to the
Alphaproteobacteria
subdivision of the
Proteobacteria
and has a close relationship with human pathogens of the genus
Orientia
. Consequently, we temporarily named it
Orientia
-like organism (OLO). OLO was found in six of eight wild populations of
B. tabaci
China 1, with the infection rate ranging from 46.2% to 76.8%. Fluorescence
in situ
hybridization (FISH) of
B. tabaci
China 1 in nymphs and adults revealed that OLOs are confined to the bacteriome and co-occur with “
Ca
. Portiera aleyrodidarum.” The vertical transmission of OLO was demonstrated by detection of OLO at the anterior pole end of the oocytes through FISH. Quantitative PCR analysis of population dynamics suggested a complex interaction between “
Ca
. Portiera aleyrodidarum” and OLO. Based on these results, we propose “
Candidatus
Hemipteriphilus asiaticus” for the classification of this symbiont from
B. tabaci
.